Exxon in negotiations with Chad over record $74 billion fine: Bloomberg

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An airplane comes in for a landing above an Exxon sign at a gas station in the Chicago suburb of Norridge, Illinois, U.S., October 27, 2016. REUTERS/Jim Young

(Reuters) - Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N) is negotiating with Chad over a record $74 billion fine the U.S. oil company was told to pay by a court in the central African nation over unpaid royalties, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.

Exxon has appealed the Oct. 5 court ruling, but the appeals court hearing has been delayed because of the talks, Bloomberg reported, citing a lawyer for Exxon. (bloom.bg/2fRpf5n)

The consortium, which includes Malaysian state oil firm Petronas PETRA.UL and Chadian oil company SNT, were found to owe the country nearly 484 billion CFA francs ($808 million) in royalties, according to the court judgment.

It did not explain why the penalty amounted to more than 90 times that amount.

The unpaid royalties stem from a dispute over fees, sources in the Chadian Finance Ministry have told Reuters. The Finance Ministry, they said, is seeking a 2 percent royalty fee from the consortium, a rate the defendants have said is higher than the agreed level.

Petronas and SNT could not immediately be reached for comment.

Reporting by Vishaka George in Bengaluru and Ernest Scheyder in Houston; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar and Sandra Maler